Katatonia & Novembre @ Mean Fiddler - London - 22.4.06

That was the first time I could stand in the front row, it just felt so good, so near to the bands ^^ Novembre played the open set. Well, I heard about them but never listened to any albums of them before. Their music are dark, similar to early Katatonia in the 90s. I was quite impressed with the bass player, his bass-lines are impressive and more than good. Quite disappointed with the guitarist, or more appropriately, the guitar sounds. It was simply lost... Well, in conclusion, Novembre is a band worth checking them out.
Katatonia was the main character of the show because this show is for promoting their new album "The Great Cold Distance", they played a couple of songs from the new album, from "Viva Emptiness" and only few songs from earlier album like "Tonight's Decision" and "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"... sadly, no songs from "Dance of December Souls" or "Brave Murder Day" era were played. The band really showed off their level... They were perfect! That night was the guitarist's birthday as well, he poped a champagne and sprayed over the fans! ^^ I was not prepared to capture that moment, haizz...
Enough said... here are the photos...

Novembre









Katatonia


















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Katatonia - My Twin

This video is awesome! Song taken from just-released album "The Great Cold Distance"



Katatonia rulezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!


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I've just found this is so amusing

My address in Singapore: 33 Jalan Limau Manis
My address in UK: Flat 33 Elgar Court, Birmingham

^^


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First post in Vietnamese, hehe... sorry guys ^^

Nao thi trac nghiem ^^


1. Trong một cửa hàng bánh kẹo, bạn nhìn thấy có rất nhiều loại kẹo khác nhau và loại nào cũng hết sức ngon lành. Bạn sẽ chọn kẹo nào đầu tiên?

c. Kẹo chocolate

Bạn chọn chocolate chứng tỏ bạn khá coi trọng hình thức, vì chocolate thường có hình thức bắt mắt nhất trong cửa hàng kẹo.


2. Khi bạn về nhà và mở túi kẹo của mình, bạn phát hiện ra người bán hàng đã bỏ thừa một ít kẹo nữa. Nó có chừng bao nhiêu viên ?

a. 1-2 viên

Nếu những người trưởng thành, sống độc lập thường chọn câu trả lời này.

3. Hôm nay là một ngày đẹp trời, gió thổi mát rượi. Bạn sẽ ước là mình đang ở đâu trong ngày hôm nay?

a. Một vùng tuyết trắng mênh mông

Nếu vùng tuyết trắng cho thấy bạn có biệt tài nhận thức tình hình rất nhanh và do đó có thể giải quyết nhanh chóng các vấn đề phức tạp.

4. Bạn mới mua một chú chim về nuôi cho vui. Nhưng đến khi mang chú chim về nhà, bạn mới phát hiện ra nó có khả năng thay đổi màu lông. Hôm đầu tiên, nó màu xanh lam, hôm sau chuyển sang màu vàng, hôm sau nữa thành màu đỏ và đến ngày thứ tư thì là màu đen. Theo bạn thì đến ngày thứ năm, chú chim có màu gì?

c. Chuyển sang một màu mới khác.

Màu khác cho thấy bạn là người bình tĩnh. Người khác hiếm khi thấy bạn tỏ ra quá cáu bẳn hay vui sướng điên cuồng, đơn giản vì bạn luôn biết kiềm chế cảm xúc của mình.

5. Bạn rất thích đọc tạp chí, và bạn hay xem mục nào đầu tiên trong một tờ báo mới?

a. Tất nhiên là chuyên mục bạn thích nhất.

Nếu bạn lật ngay chuyên mục mình thích nhất có nghĩa rằng bạn thường vung tay quá trán. Bạn sẵn sàng tiêu hết số tiền mình đang có để mua một món đồ bạn thích mà không cần đắn đo suy nghĩ.

6. Bạn vừa mua được 100 hạt giống hoa hồng để trồng trong vườn nhà. Theo dự đoán của bạn thì sẽ có bao nhiêu hạt phát triển thành cây?

d. 41-60

Bạn không tự tin lắm vào khả năng của chính mình, và chính sự thiếu tự tin này đã cản trở bước đường thành công của bạn khá nhiều.


7. Bạn còn nhớ chi tiết nào nhất trong truyện cổ tích Cô bé Lọ lem?

c. Lọ lem đánh rơi chiếc giày khi đồng hồ điểm 12 tiếng.

Bạn nhớ chi tiết Lọ lem đánh rơi giày vì bản thân bạn cũng thường rơi vào tình trạng luống cuống ấy. Bạn luôn dựa vào người khác để vươn lên, do đó bạn không tự tin vào những gì mình đang có.




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In Flames & Sepultura @ Carling Academy Birmingham

Short review:

Dagoba was the band played the opening for the show. They are French. They are brutal. They are undergound... but they are very good, a promising band. IMHO, they were better than Sepultura and In Flames at that night. Heavy, simple guitar riffs with relentless double bass drum and astounding vocal... they blew everything away...

Sepultura was the next. They were legend but they music is not attractive enough nowadays... their new songs lack guitar solos - an important factor to distinguish a great band among loads of mediocre bands out there. But still there are Brazilian folk music elements so they can define themselves: We're Sepultura!

In Flames was the main character of the show. They played most of the song from Come Clarity 2006 album with hits like: Come through knives, Take this life, Come clarity. Some songs from "Reroute to Remain" like Trigger, Drifter and some from melodic death metal era like Moonshield, Only for the weak. I was quite disappointing with the vocal: it was almost lost! ... can't hardly hear it except in some semi-ballad songs...

Anyway, it was still a great show and it was a great pleasure to see they playing live in here - Birmingham.


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Black Country Museum - Dudley

Background info:
The Black Country is the industrial region to the west of, and separate from, Birmingham in the Midlands of England. It gained its name in the mid nineteenth century due to the smoke from the many thousands of ironworking foundries and forges and the nature of the countryside which had been covered by dark spoil from the working of shallow and relatively thick (30ft) coal seams.

The region was described as 'Black by day and red by night' by Elihu Burritt, the American Consul to Birmingham in 1862 and other authors, from Dickens to Shenstone, refer to the intensity of manufacturing in the Black Country and its effect on the landscape and its people.


Today the Black Country is made up of most of the four Metropolitan District Council areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton and the collections and displays are derived from throughout these areas.

The industries included:

coal & coke
iron & steel
locks & keys
nails
chains
ships anchors
glassware
beer & stout

Black Country Museum (BCM) located in Dudley which is only 30 mins away by car from Birmingham University. The trip to BCM was organized by my School of Computer Science. Around 10 international students joined the trip, i was in too as usual ^^ . The weather was freezing that day :(

Photos:

Inside exhibition halls












The Black Country was famous for the Staffordshire Thick Coal, which lay beneath much of the area. The coal occurred in seams of up to 10 metres thick, far bigger than anywhere else in Britain. I joined "Into the Thick" , an underground experience created by the Black Country Living Museum to show how miners worked the Thick Coal and other seams in the Black Country in about 1850. It is a drift mine, with a sloping tunnel down. No photographing allowed but I still managed to capture one shot on the way out of the tunnel ^^


The 1920s cinema showing silent movies: we were watching Laurel & Hardy ^^


19th century street setting



The dock



Cast iron house ^^



Overview







Misc







Me ^^






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I did cry today....

To be told that I was never ever been loved before ... sad but true :(


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Destination: Cardiff

Cardiff - the capital of Wales is the youngest capital in Europe. It is a small city with population of around 300,000. The trip to Cardiff from Birmingham took approximately 2.5 hours. "I am travelling from England to Wales". That sounds far away but the distance is not that much. About equal to distance between Birmingham and London. And now, here I am ... in Cardiff - Wales ...

Millenium Stadium - the place where FA Cup Final Match held every year!



Cardiff Castle - a "must visit" tourist attraction in Wales!



Norwegian Church - Originally built in 1868 for the Norwegian sailors visiting Cardiff when it was one of the busiest coal exporting docks in the world. The Church is also the place where the childrens’ author Roald Dahl, famous for writing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", was christened in 1916.



Wales Millennium Centre - is a huge, architecturally spectacular building in the heart of Cardiff Bay. The use of slate, wood, metal, and glass pays tribute to Wales and its industrial past. Words written: "In these stones horizons sing" in English and Welsh!



Cardiff Bay - claimed as the most exciting waterfront development in Europe



St John's Church - is Cardiff’s second oldest building after the castle and is one of the five Beacon Churches of South East Wales. The tower dates from the 15th Century after the original 11th century tower was destroyed by Owain Glyndwr’s troops.





Cardiff City Hall - Built in the English Renaissance style, City Hall was opened in 1906, a year after Cardiff was granted its city status. Within the magnificent exterior carved from Portland Stone can be found elegant rooms perfect for wedding ceremonies. City Hall is licenced for marriage ceremonies with its unique atmosphere making it an outstanding choice for a wedding
I happened to see a wedding celebrated on that day too ^^







National Assembly for Wales - consists of 60 Members elected throughout Wales. The Assembly has delegated many of its powers to the First Minister, who leads the Welsh Assembly Government





Pierhead Building - Incorporating a French-Gothic Renaissance theme, the Pierhead boasts details such as hexagonal chimneys, carved friezes, gargoyles, and a highly ornamental and distinctive clock tower. Its exterior is finished in glazed terracotta blocks







Cardiff downtown - I guess every cities in UK must possess this kind of walking street, for people to walk and shop around without interference of vehicles





Buskers







Misc:

The Kiss - a famous sculpture by Rodin. Found in National Museum of Wales ^^



Sign post - in English and Welsh



Dunno what they call this ^^



The Dragon - symbol of Wales



The so-called arts ^^







Some ( rare ) photos of me ^^
















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